2023 Awards for Our Florida Books and Authors

Dreams in the New Century: Instant Cities, Shattered Hopes, and Florida’s Turning Point by Gary R. Mormino was awarded the Gold Medal for Florida Nonfiction.

Eminent historian Gary Mormino illuminates early twenty-first-century Florida and its connections to some of the most significant events in contemporary American history, taking stock of a tumultuous decade of change and explaining the state’s social, cultural, and political intricacies.

Maximum Vantage: New Selected Columns by Bill Maxwell was awarded the Silver Medal for Florida Nonfiction.

Veteran journalist Bill Maxwell tackles important issues faced by Florida and broader American society, offering opinions on a wide variety of questions with a focus on race, agricultural labor, education, and the environment.

The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers by Andrew T. Huse, Bárbara C. Cruz, and Jeff Houck was awarded the Gold Medal for Cooking.

This book reveals the social history behind how the Cuban sandwich evolved from its origins in the midnight cafés of Havana to claim a spot on menus around the world.

All Things Beautiful: Wonders from the Collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History was awarded the Gold Medal for Visual Arts.

Lushly illustrated with over 300 color plates, this volume is a celebration of the beauty of natural history collections and the work of curators dedicated to understanding and conserving our natural world.

B is for Baldwin: An Alphabet Tour of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature edited by Suzan Alteri was awarded the Silver Medal for Visual Arts.

The Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature, part of Special and Area Studies in the Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida, is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of children’s books in the world. This lavishly illustrated volume offers a glimpse into rarities and wonders of the Baldwin.

Dreams in the New Century: Instant Cities, Shattered Hopes, and Florida’s Turning Point by Gary R. Mormino was awarded the Charlton Tebeau Award for an outstanding general interest book on Florida history and culture.

Eminent historian Gary Mormino illuminates early twenty-first-century Florida and its connections to some of the most significant events in contemporary American history, taking stock of a tumultuous decade of change and explaining the state’s social, cultural, and political intricacies

Marge and Julia: The Correspondence between Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Julia Scribner Bigham edited by Rodger L. Tarr, Brent E. Kinser, and Florence M. Turcotte was awarded the Rembert Patrick Award for an outstanding scholarly book on Florida history and culture.

Exploring the rich, enduring companionship shared by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Julia Scribner Bigham through never-before-published letters, Marge and Julia provides a revelatory depiction of these two literary women’s experiences in mid-twentieth-century America.

Forces of Nature: A History of Florida Land Conservation by Clay Henderson was awarded the Stetson Kennedy Award for a book focusing on human rights, traditional cultures, or the natural environment.

In this comprehensive history of land conservation in Florida, Clay Henderson celebrates the individuals and organizations who made the state a leader in state-funded conservation and land preservation.

Ninety Miles and a Lifetime Away: Memories of Early Cuban Exiles by David Powell was awarded the Samuel Proctor Award for an outstanding oral history project.

Bringing together an unprecedented number of extensive personal stories, this book shares the triumphs and heartbreaking moments experienced by some of the first Cubans to come to the United States after Fidel Castro took power in 1959.